Progress Party (Dorvik) Leadership Election 4072
The Progress Party leadership election 4072 were a series of electoral contests organized by the Progress Party to determine the next leader of the Progress Party and its Presidential candidate. The election took place over all of Dorvik, with registered members of the Progress Party being allowed to vote. There were two rounds in the election; the first included all five candidates and the second included only the top two from the first round. Gary Zieglar, seen as the more fiscally conservative candidate won both rounds, beating the more moderate Carolin Fahrenheit in the second round, and also the more progressive Marvin Stein, populist Niklaus Klein and party veteran Benedikt Ehrenreich. Although not having held any cabinet positions unlike all his opponents other than Klein, Zieglar benefited from the rise of fiscally moderate to conservative movements within the party, especially following the implementation of the Koloman Plan which was managing to pass due to the support of the NFPP and Comunists, which Zieglar had been seen as one of its most vocal critics. Carolin Fahrenheit meanwhile ran on a more moderate, big-tent platform, still opposing the Koloman plan like Zieglar but placing less emphasis on it than him, and focusing on social issues more than him, which is seen as a large factor as to why he had the edge over her. Marvin Stein was the only candidate not to outright condemn the Koloman Plan, calling it "misplaced" but vowed a more pragmatic approach to it, advocating limited implementation of it via more nationalization like the plan advocated, but not completely eradicating private industry unlike the plan. Although by some he was seen as the true big-tent and pragmatic candidate due to this, Fahrenheit managed to be seen as the more "unity candidate" due to her moderate opposition to it as opposed what many in the party saw as Stein's "endorsement of the plan". Niklaus Klein despite having very little support from key figures in the party managed to gain small, widespread grassroots support with his populist rhetoric, calling for tougher policing however he failed to garner much support within the wider party membership. Benedikt Ehrenreich ran a campaign boasting his loyal service to the party since its founding in 4046, being the only candidate to have been a Progress Party MSP since its first election in 4049 and also pointed out his success as Minister of Health and Social Services. However despite being well respected within the party and well liked, he was widely seen as a relic of the past and not what the party needed currently. However he managed to manage enough momentum in his home city of Zitadelle to win the district in the first round. Candidates Overview In December 4071 after much speculation, incumbent party leader and President Kurt Bacher announced he would not stand for a fourth term in the upcoming election. As such, a leadership election was announced, with media speculation as to who would enter beginning almost immediately, and sometime before the announcement even occurred. Carolin Fahrenheit was the first to announce candidacy a mere week after Bacher's announcement, and by many was seen as the frontrunner. Within the next week both Niklaus Klein and Benedikt Ehrenreich also announced they would be running in the election. It was heavily speculated that Gary Ziegler may also pursue leadership of the party and eventually on Boxing Day 4071, he confirmed he would seek leadership. The last candidate to announce they were standing was Marvin Stein, who said he was standing in order for there to be a truly progressive voice in the election. It wasn't long until Ziegler was heavily challenging Fahrenheit as the frontrunner, with him capitalizing from the growing economic liberalism within the party and his staunch opposition to the Koloman plan. He soon catapulted into first place in opinion polls, eventually earning a comfortable lead over Fahrenheit. This lead to him eventually gaining more endorsements from MSCs than Fahrenheit, finalizing his position as the main frontrunner. However both of them had substantially more support than any of their rivals. The first televised debates between the candidates took place in mid January, which Ziegler and Stein widely being viewed as the best performers. The debates helped boost Stein above Klein and Ehrenreich, also drawing away supporters from Fahrenheit. Klein's support on the other hand widely flopped following his perceived poor performance, with Stein at one point stating "this man has more appeal to NFPP voters than our own" due to his borderling right-wing populist rhetoric. The debates were the final nail in the coffin for Ehrenreich, with him being the most quiet candidate, to the degree that Ziegler joked that he "forgot you were here mate". Many noted the back and forth between Ziegler and Stein were the most memorable parts of the debate. Fahrenheit's role in the debate was regarded as "standard", with Stein at one point noting "that's the typical thing a typical politician would say". The second debate was held early February, seen as less memorable than the first but more serious, and was mostly noted for Fahrenheit's improved performance and a slight decline in Stein's support. This debate delved more into economic issues and opposition to the Koloman Plan than the previous one, which helped propel Ziegler's support further. Ziegler bashed Stein's policies regarding the plan, trying successfully to brand him as "more of a Communist than a Progressive", which also helped Fahrenheit win over his more moderate supporters. Stein meanwhile noted parallels between Ziegler and the DSNP's economic policies, which failed to stick due to the lack of relevance in the contemporary situation. A week after the debates, the membership ballot took place for the first round. It was widely expected that no candidate would receive a majority of votes and thus go onto a second round, which was correct. It was also widely expected that Ziegler and Fahrenheit would top the ballot and go onto the second election which was also correct. However the turnout for Stein was significantly lower than expected, most likely due to many of his more moderate supporters switching over to Fahrenheit following Ziegler's bashing of him in the debates, and Fahrenheit being perceived as more electable. Results Category:Dorvish Progress Party